Smart Watches for MSN Direct, a new type of watch that can receive a wide variety of data, such as accurate time information, Outlook Calendar reminders, and news headlines, over a low-bandwidth radio network called DirectBand (available only in North America) are now available. Smart Watches are the first devices to incorporate Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) technology, which could help the company get its software into millions of everyday devices and stave off Java's advances in the device market. MSN Direct could also create a new opportunity for content partners to reach large numbers of users.

MSN Direct Service

Smart Watches, currently available from Fossil and Suunto, carry suggested retail prices between US$129 and US$299. But to access data services, users must maintain a subscription to MSN Direct, which costs an additional US$9.95 per month (with the first month free) or US$59 per year. To use MSN Direct, users visit the MSN Direct Web site and enter personal information, such as their ZIP code, then sign up for data services tailored to their location and interests.

The data services are provided mostly by partners and currently include weather reports (from Weather.com), news headlines and summaries (CBC/Radio-Canada, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal Online), sports scores (ESPN), stock quotes (ComStock), travel headlines and updates (Encarta), and alerts about local events (CitySearch). Users can also receive appointment reminders from their Outlook Calendar and instant messages from the .NET Messenger Service. A slider on the watch interface lets users control the maximum number of alerts that can be received at any given time, although this feature could benefit from greater granularity—for example, it cannot be used to set the frequency with which alerts are delivered.

The audience for MSN Direct seemingly overlaps with MSN Mobile, which allows users to receive text-based information on certain cell phones and wireless-connected PDAs. However, the price and ease-of-use for MSN Mobile varies depending on what carriers charge for data and the model of cell phone used. By offering a more consistent price and experience, MSN Direct may be able to attract technology enthusiasts who passed on MSN Mobile.

Even without an MSN Direct subscription, the watches automatically connect to a data service that adjusts the time, so users need not reset the watches when they switch time zones. However, this service only works when users are within range of DirectBand, an FM subcarrier signal that covers more than 100 North American cities; in other areas they must set the watch manually.

Service Updates, Other Devices Planned

Although MSN Direct did not launch with some services that had been previously touted, such as traffic reports, SPOT Vice President Bill Mitchell said Microsoft surveyed potential customers across the United States and concentrated on the two most requested services: weather and news. Over time, MSN Direct will add other services that are popular in particular regions, such as ski reports or tide tables, and will alter or eliminate existing services based on consumer demand and responses to questionnaires on the MSN Direct Web site. The software on the watches can also be updated over MSN Direct, allowing Microsoft to update the interface, for example.

Mitchell said other SPOT devices are being planned, but Microsoft will focus on making each device perform its key function better, rather than simply applying the same types of services to all devices. For example, Mitchell explained, Microsoft's market research showed that customers' two biggest problems with today's watches are inaccuracy and having to reset the watch when they travel, and the primary goal of the Smart Watches is to solve these problems. Other SPOT devices will follow a similar template.

More information on Smart Watches is available at direct.msn.com.

For more background on SPOT, see "SPOT Devices to Use FM-Based Network" on page 20 of the Feb. 2003 Update.